Y is for Yummy food you make: I make a very simple goulash: 3 cups elbow macaroni, 1 pound ground beef (sometimes 1.25 pounds ground turkey or 7 ounces small shrimp), and a 28 ounce can of spaghetti sauce. Other than that, I have the sharpest can opener in town.

Funny Strange?

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Lenten Reading

As part of a person's Lenten devotion, some people take on additional reading materials, whether it be a more in-depth study of the Bible or some other spiritual materials.

I have a book which has been sitting on my shelf waiting to be perused. This is the perfect time for it.

From the Preface:

If we leave the Cross out of the Life of Christ, we have nothing left, and certainly not Christianity. For the Cross is related to our sins. Christ was our "stand-in" on the stage of life. He took our guilt as if He were guilty and thus paid the debt that sin deserved, namely, death. This made possible our resurrection to a "new life" in Him. Christ, therefore, is not just a teacher or a peasant revolutionist, but our Savior. Our modern world does not like the word "sin."

"Who Loves You, Baby?"

Yesterday, as I sat in class, I began to realize the formation component of our education; we cannot truly learn about God without entering into the mystery of who He is and allowing Him to penetrate our souls. So, in order to discuss God and his will for us, we first have to understand his love for us. His all-encompassing love.

Here's a nugget from our class notes (a bound volume):

"In the end, then, all questions really boil down to: 'Won't somebody love me?' 'Isn't there a God with real, effective, powerful love?' 'Who can fulfill all the aspiration I find in my heart?' 'Am I loveable, despite so much evil within?' 'Who will rescue me and purify my conscience?'"

These are questions I am asking of myself.

Go read the rest of this post from another Minnesota 'blogger, Adoro te Devote, and see if they truly resonate with you as well.

"When You Fast..."

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Challenged

Leticia Velasquez, the 'blogmistress of Causa Nostrae Laetitiae, has challenged me to take the quiz she designed.

The results?

You are a 100% traditional Catholic!

Congratulations! You are more knowlegeable than most modern theologians! You have achieved mastery over the most important doctrines of the Catholic Faith! You should share your incredible understanding with others!

THE Greatest Love Affair

An acquaintance sent this to me a few years ago. It gets to the heart of St. Augustine's statement that our restlessness is quieted only in God. It is a reminder of Who our First Love is and should be. It is the cornerstone of seeking the Kingdom of God by seeking the King. Edited for form; the content is everlasting:

Everyone longs to give himself completely to someone, to have a deep soul relationship with another, to be loved thoroughly and exclusively.

But God, to the Christian, says, "No, not until you are satisfied with living for Me and being loved by Me alone and having an intensely personal and unique relationship with Me alone.

"I love you my child; and until you discover that only in Me is your satisfaction, you will not be capable of the perfect human relationship that I have planned for you.

"I want you to stop planning and stop wanting, and allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan ever existing--one that you cannot even imagine.

"I want you to have the best. Please allow Me to bring it to you--just keep watching Me, expecting the greatest things--keep experiencing that satisfaction in Me, knowing that I AM--keep learning and listening to the things that I tell you.

"You must wait. Do not be anxious. Do not worry. Do not look around at the things others have gained for themselves or that I have given them. Do not look at the things you want. Just keep looking at Me or you will miss what I want to show you.

"And then, when you are ready, I will surprise you with a love far more wonderful than any you would ever dream of. You see, until you are ready (and even at this minute I desire to have you both ready at the same time), until you are both satisfied with Me and the life that I have prepared for you, you will not be able to experience the love that exemplifies our relationship with Me--and this is perfect love.

"And, dear one, I want you to have this most wonderful love. I want you to see in the flesh a picture of your relationship with Me and to enjoy the everlasting union of beauty and love.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Prayer Request

She has more faith in her operated-upon toe than I have in my entire body.

She knows how to live the Faith.

She knows the Father, His Son, and His Mother better than I can ever imagine or hope.

She is battling a severe case of pneumonia.

She is scared.

(She is not the only one.)

She is Catherine Garcia, the 'blogmistress of "Life Behind The Zion Curtain".

She is in need of your prayers.

Here is mine for her, spoken over a year ago for someone else and written for anyone:

Lord Jesus Christ, You came to earth as the Divine Physician, to cure not only our spiritual ills but our physical ones as well. Look kindly upon Your servants who are ailing. Grant them the Grace to carry the cross they bear at the moment. Bring healing and hope to their body and spirit. Be with them; allow them to touch the hem of Your garment. Comfort them in their fears and anxieties. Let Your mercy show forth in the works of those in the healing arts, where people can encounter You. May they be brought back to wholeness, so as to continue their mission to serve others. We ask this in union with the Father and the Holy Spirit, our Triune God, forever and ever.

Kyrie, eleison.

(UPDATE 2/13/07) Catherine was released from the hospital Sunday and is now continuing her recovery at home.